Indian Ministry of Defence, Giving a detailed reply on the status of the Light Combat Aircraft being jointly developed by the DRDO and HAL, Shri Antony said major breakthroughs in the project have been achieved in recent times and he is confident that “it will be in the sky within a few years.”
He said the Indian Air Force, which was not willing to accept even one of this aircraft earlier, has now decided to receive two squadrons, indicating their confidence in the aircraft. The Defence Minister admitted that there are still problems with the high-powered Kaveri engine and negotiations are on for a suitable partnership.
As a result, development of a fully operational Kaveri engine may take some more time but “we will not abandon the project,” he declared.
Earlier inaugurating DefExpo India-2008 on a balmy morning at Pragati Maidan, Shri Antony said that the DPP-2008, which is going to be announced by April, will address concerns and opinions of various stakeholders relating to issues like banking of offset credits, Transfer of Technology (ToT), licensing requirement for software industry and so on. Shri Antony stressed the need for far greater synergy between the private players and the government.
The Def Expo India exhibition was conceptualised in the year 1998 by the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, Government of India in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry with an objective to promote defence exports from India and at the same time exhibit the capabilities of Indian Defence R&D and production. The Def Expo India exhibition which began in 1999 with 197 exhibitors has grown to one of the most internationally recognised defence exhibitions in the world, with a total of 475 exhibitors, of which foreign exhibitors are 273 and Indian exhibitors are 202.
Dedicated to global land and naval systems business activity – from suppliers to manufacturers, technology providers to services – it allows the international defence industry to promote and showcase their products and services to an international ness audience.
First time in Defexpo India'08 both Telecom and IT companies will be showcasing their products and services.
47 Official Delegations would be visiting Defexpo India 2008 including 6 Ministerial delegations from Afghanistan, Belarus, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia and Nigeria.
The 4th Indian Defence Industry Summit on Indian Defence Industry Policy & Procurement Processes will be held on 16th February, 2008. A major highlight of DEFEXPO India 2008 this year is the inclusion of 16 seminars coinciding with DEFEXPO INDIA 2008, to enable exhibitors to make technology / product specific presentations to target audience from Indian Defence establishments, R&D Institutions, visiting official delegations, Defence Public Sector Undertakings, Ordnance Factories and Indian Industry.
Additionally, a new feature this year is that CII will be organising a Def Expo India – Golf Tournament on Sunday, 17 February 2008 at the Army Golf Course New Delhi.
International participation in Defexpo India '08 is from over 30 countries, displaying an array of technology and new products. Countries participating include Australia, Belarus, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Norway, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, The Netherlands, UAE, UK, Ukraine and the U.S.A.
Germany says adding explosive drones to weapons arsenal
Germany said Friday it would buy explosive drones for the first time as Berlin boosts investments in its armed forces...
